Ja’s return gives Grizz that old, dominant guard
SALT LAKE CITY—Ja Morant’s ability to take over a game hasn’t diminished.
Morant didn’t miss a beat in leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a 126-124 season-opening victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, as the two-time NBA All-Star finished with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 10 assists and five rebounds in only 28 minutes.
It was the 24th game of his career where he had at least 20 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
“My job as a point guard is to control the game,” Morant said. “I hate it if I let the other team’s point guard control the game. Whatever I can do to make sure it’s in our favor, I try to do.”
His performance comes on the heels of a 2023-24 season marred by controversy and injury. The NBA suspended him for the first 25 games for flashing a gun on his friend’s Instagram account. Then, after appearing in just nine games, Morant suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
The long rehabilitation process he went through following shoulder surgery made Morant appreciate how much basketball meant to him while it was gone. Once he was cleared for full basketball activities again in mid-July, he looked forward to stepping back out on the court.
Warriors triumph
And the moment was everything he expected and wanted.
“I was just excited to be back out there,” Morant said. “These guys trust and believe in me every time I’m out there on the floor, so it’s only right I go out there and play free.”
Morant’s activity on both ends of the floor helped the Grizzlies weather a fourth-quarter rally from the Jazz. He came up with timely baskets or assists whenever Memphis needed an answer. Defensively, he worked to be disruptive and keep the Jazz from permanently seizing momentum down the stretch.
Morant made every minute he was on the floor count.
“He only played 28 minutes tonight,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “But those were hard-playing 28 minutes.”
Morant’s goal is to be even more productive and efficient as he gets continued reps. It’s an extension of the work he put in over the summer to improve his game and heighten his impact on the floor.
“That was the biggest takeaway from this summer is the investment in his body, knowing we’re going to continue to push him even more than we’ve done in the past,” Jenkins said. “He responded in game one. We’re going to need it for many, many more games moving forward.”
Meanwhile, in Portland, Stephen Curry had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds before sitting for the fourth quarter, and the Golden State Warriors opened their season with a 139-104 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Buddy Hield had 22 points off the bench for the Warriors, who missed out on the playoffs last year.
Portland led by as many as nine points in the opening quarter, but the Warriors pulled ahead and led 62-50 at the break. Curry had a three-pointer to open the second half and Golden State led by as many as 37 points the rest of the way.
Portland was led by Scoot Henderson with 22 points off the bench. Shaedon Sharpe didn’t play because of a shoulder injury.
Terry Stotts, head coach of the Blazers from 2012 to 2021, is now an assistant under Steve Kerr with the Warriors. Stotts saluted the crowd in the opening quarter when the Blazers played a tribute to him on the video scoreboard.
‘We’re definitely more organized this year, I think, than we’ve been in the past. Terry has been a huge part of that,” Kerr said. “He’s added so much to our staff and given us some different stuff that we’re excited about.”
Late in the first half Draymond Green, jawed at the refs after being called for a foul and earned his first technical of the season. Kerr put an arm around Green’s shoulder and led him off the court.
Curry, fresh off winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer, had seven assists in the first quarter alone to move him ahead of Clyde Drexler (6,125) into 38th on the NBA’s all-time career list.
